PORTLAND, Oregon – After a 5-0 thrashing of FC Dallas on Wednesday, the Seattle Sounders hoped their newfound attacking fireworks would carry over to a Cascadia Cup clash on Sunday against the Portland Timbers at Providence Park.
Instead, the finishing woes that have plagued the Sounders (6-11-2, 20 pts) for much their 2016 season resurfaced. The result was a 3-1 defeat at the hands of their biggest rivals and a place near the bottom of the Western Conference standings.
Timbers star midfielder Diego Valeri tagged the Sounders for two of his team’s three goals and forward Fanendo Adi scored the other for the hosts, as the Sounders struggled to contain Portland’s dynamic counterattack for much of the afternoon.
“We did have opportunities. We also knew what they were going to do,” Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei said after the game. “We should have been ready for it. Out of their three goals, two were essentially off counters. We should have done better on that.”
The Sounders' offensive struggles were compounded by the absence of forward Clint Dempsey, who was suspended for Sunday's match due to a red card picked up against Dallas. Seattle’s attacking corps couldn’t pick up the slack with the United States national team star unavailable, and the team's lone goal came via a header from center back Chad Marshall in the 59th minute.
Jordan Morris, Nelson Valdez and Cristian Roldan all had clean looks at potentially game-altering goals at different points during the match, but couldn’t put any of their opportunities past Timbers’ goalkeeper Jake Gleeson.
“Sometimes we’re looking to beat people and totally outplay the guy before we shoot it rather than shooting when we have a little bit of space,” Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid said. “If you shoot with a little bit of space then all of the sudden, a guy sticks a knee out, it can deflect, all kinds of things can happen. I think that’s an area [our attackers can improve].”
Schmid also cited Valeri as Portland’s catalyst in the Timbers’ fast-paced counterattacks.
“We gave Valeri too much space and we didn’t know where he was at all times, even when we were attacking,” Schmid said. “We need to get tighter to him. If you give him that much time and space, he’ll show you he’s a good player.”
